Epa Protocol Calibration; Calibration Requirements; Calibration Of Equipment - Teledyne 100E Instruction Manual

Model 100E Instruction Manual

EPA Protocol Calibration

8. EPA PROTOCOL CALIBRATION

8.1. Calibration Requirements

If the M100E is to be used for EPA SLAMS monitoring, it must be calibrated in accordance
with the instructions in this section.
In order to insure that high quality, accurate measurements are obtained at all times, the
M100E must be calibrated prior to use. A quality assurance program centered on this
aspect and including attention to the built-in warning features of the M100E, periodic
inspection, regular zero/span checks and routine maintenance is paramount to achieving
this.
In order to have a better understanding of the factors involved in assuring continuous and
reliable information from the M100E, it is strongly recommended that Publication No. PB
273-518 Quality Assurance Handbook for Air Pollution Measurement Systems
(abbreviated, Q.A. Handbook) be purchased from the NTIS (phone 703-605-6000).
Special attention should be paid to Section 2.9 which deals with fluorescence based SO
2
analyzers and upon which most of this section is based. Specific regulations regarding the
use and operation of ambient sulfur dioxide analyzers can be found in 40 CFR 50 and 40
CFR 58. Both publications are available from the U.S. Government Printing Office (phone
202-512-0327).

8.1.1. Calibration of Equipment

In general, calibration is the process of adjusting the gain and offset of the M100E against
some recognized standard. The reliability and usefulness of all data derived from any
analyzer depends primarily upon its state of calibration. In this section the term dynamic
calibration is used to express a multipoint check against known standards and involves
introducing gas samples of known concentration into the instrument in order to adjust the
instrument to a predetermined sensitivity and to produce a calibration relationship. This
relationship is derived from the instrumental response to successive samples of different
known concentrations. As a minimum, three reference points and a zero point are
recommended to define this relationship. The true values of the calibration gas must be
traceable to NIST-SRM's See Table 7.1.
All monitoring instrument systems are subject to some drift and variation in internal
parameters and cannot be expected to maintain accurate calibration over long periods of
time. Therefore, it is necessary to dynamically check the calibration relationship on a
predetermined schedule. Zero and span checks must be used to document that the data
remains within control limits. These checks are also used in data reduction and validation.
Table 8-3 summarizes the initial quality assurance activities for calibrating equipment.
Table 8-2 is a matrix for the actual dynamic calibration procedure.
Calibrations should be carried out at the field monitoring site. The Analyzer should be in
operation for at least several hours (preferably overnight) before calibration so that it is
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